Chris Christie Aide Denies 2012 Bid Report

By Adam Martin

Update (1:27 p.m. EDT): Alter himself has backed off his initial tweet, saying "Another source, close to Christie and v-reliable, says there are no Christie focus groups and nothing has changed. I trust him."

Update (1:20 p.m. EDT): A report on The Hill's Ballot Box blog says Mike Duhaime, Christie's top adviser, "categorically denied the report and said Christie has not reconsidered his decision to forgo a 2012 presidential run."

A tweet from Bloomberg columnist Jonathan Alter says New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is looking into a possible 2012 presidential run. "BREAKING: My sources say NJ Gov. Chris Christie is conducting focus groups in preparation for a possible run for president in 2012," the tweet read. That comes the day after Republican strategist Karl Rove said he thought Christie would (and should) run, along with Paul Ryan. “I'm getting the same sense from some of those people that maybe it’s wishful thinking on their part that they’re so enthusiastic about Paul Ryan or Chris Christie jumping into the race that what they're getting out of the conversation what they want to hear but there's enough of that chatter that I think we've got to give it some credence,” Rove said in a Fox News interview quoted by The Hill. Christie's been quiet on his own Twitter stream, and there aren't yet yet formal news reports to back up Alter's tweet, but it does seem like the wind is blowing in the direction of a Christie run.